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Ducks continue homestand against Canucks

by
Brian Compton
/ NHL.com

CANUCKS (41-16-9) at DUCKS (35-25-5)

TV -- SNET-VAN, PRIME

Last 10 -- Vancouver 5-5-0; Anaheim 5-4-1.

Season series -- This is the fourth and final meeting between the teams. Anaheim is 2-0-1 against Vancouver and most recently earned a 4-3 victory on Feb. 9 at Rogers Arena. All three matchups this season have been decided by one goal.

Big story -- Roberto Luongo reached another milestone Saturday when the Canucks' goaltender won the 300th game of his NHL career in Vancouver's 3-1 victory at Los Angeles. He became the sixth-youngest goalie in League history to accomplish the feat.

"It's tough to go full-throttle for 82 games," Luongo, 31, said. "Obviously we feel that we're not playing our best hockey right now, but we're still a .500 team, and that says a bit about our group in the locker room. We just need to get ourselves in gear and realize that obviously there are going to be games like tonight, a lot down the stretch here, and we just have to find ways to win."

Team Scope:

Canucks -- After dropping two of its previous three games, Vancouver came to play on Saturday and broke a 1-1 tie with 8:24 left in regulation on a goal by Daniel Sedin. It was exactly the type of start the Canucks needed on their five-game road trip.

"We played an emotional series against them last year in the playoffs and they had beaten us twice this year, so we wanted to come out and show them that we're a team to be reckoned with and we're not going to be pushed around either," Canucks forward Jannik Hansen said.

Ducks --Anaheim is banging on the door for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, as it takes a three-game winning streak and a four-game point streak into Sunday's action. The Ducks continued their winning ways on Friday when they earned a 4-3 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars at the Honda Center. Lubomir Visnovsky tallied the game-winner -- his third of the night -- in the final seconds of the extra session. Anaheim trailed 3-1 after 40 minutes.

"You have to believe," Teemu Selanne said, "and get the feeling as a team that you're going to come back. It doesn't matter what the score is. That is what happened tonight."

Who's hot -- Daniel Sedin's goal on Saturday was his 33rd of the season. He leads the NHL with 80 points. … Ducks forward Bobby Ryan has a five-game point streak. He is 2-4-6 during that span.

Stat pack -- Selanne's game-tying goal with 1:03 left on Friday night was his 400th as a member of the Ducks. Among active players, only Calgary's Jarome Iginla has scored more goials with one team.

Puck drop: "There is a real hockey atmosphere being displayed out there and a lot of passion. It's a very entertaining brand of hockey. It was good for our fans. They rallied behind our guys. Any time you pull your goalie and score late in the hockey game, you have to feel fortunate. Again lady luck was on our side, but we worked for it." -- Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle after Friday's overtime win against Dallas